Celebrity watch: Photos from Vintage Newsday Instagram

Proximity to New York City has brought a steady parade of celebrities to Long Island — those who perform at area arenas, who meet and greet fans, even those who visit on official business. Think Tina Turner and Elvis, Toni Morrison and Muhammad Ali, and Princess Margaret and Eleanor Roosevelt, to name several Newsday has chronicled. Other celebrities are of the homegrown variety — like Billy Joel, Billy Crystal and Debbie Gibson. And still others, like John Steinbeck and Princess Lee Radziwill, have claimed the Island as their own later in life — drawn by its remove from the hustle and bustle. As the princess — a Bouvier and among Newsday’s 1978 “Who’s Who in the Hamptons” — said of her home in Southampton: “I bought this house because I like to live with simplicity and comfort. It’s a refuge, the only place serene enough to read or concentrate.”

Whether you’re a native Long Islander or a transplant, we hope you enjoy these celebrity sightings drawn from Newsday’s archives. Then join us at the Vintage Newsday Instagram — you’ll know it by the photo of Newsday’s first female photographer, Edna Murray, circa 1945. You’ll find these and other photos from the vault curated by Newsday librarians.

CABOOSE PARTY. Actors Sophia Loren, in hat, and Tab Hunter, fourth from right, wave to a crowd in Long Beach on June 24, 1958, during filming of the movie “That Kind of Woman.” Accompanying them are six New Yorkers chosen as extras in the World War II drama. From left, John Moriarty of Jackson Heights, Queens; Susan Mendelson of Hewlett Harbor; Bob Elson of Manhattan; Judy Edelman of Roslyn; Lorraine Shalhoub of Brooklyn; and Bob Hofman of Merrick.

MADE FANS SWOON. Elvis Presley sings a sold-out show at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum on June 22, 1973, for a crowd of 16,000. His death in 1977 came six days before he was to return for a third tour at the arena.

PART OF THE FLOCK. Princess Margaret, with her then-husband, Antony Armstrong-Jones, Earl of Snowdon, third from left, greets clergy at St. John’s of Lattingtown Episcopal Church in Locust Valley as they arrive for services on Nov. 21, 1965.

TELLING HER STORY. Toni Morrison speaks at a Newsday book and author luncheon on Oct. 18, 1977, at the former Huntington Town House. That year, she was awarded the National Book Critics Circle Award for her novel “Song of Solomon.” She later won a Pulitzer in fiction for “Beloved” and the Nobel Prize in literature for her body of work.

THE WRITE STUFF. On Nov. 5, 1962, John Steinbeck admires the view of the Sag Harbor waterfront from his sunporch, a favorite spot of his. Eleven days earlier, the Swedish Academy announced the author of “The Grapes of Wrath” and “Of Mice and Men” would be awarded the Nobel Prize in literature.

IN THE LINE OF DUTY. Harry Chapin is seen outside his home in Huntington Bay on Nov. 8, 1980. The singer-composer, dedicated to ending hunger on Long Island and beyond, was on his way to perform a free benefit concert at Eisenhower Park nearly a year later when he was killed in a collision on the Long Island Expressway.

MUSIC IN THE AIR. Long Island bandleader Guy Lombardo, left, and “Over the Rainbow” lyricist Yip Harburg on June 20, 1977, at Jones Beach Theater; Lombardo was hired by Long Island State Park Commissioner Robert Moses in 1954 to oversee productions at the theater; he produced 17 shows during his tenure at Jones Beach until his death in 1977.

FELLOW HORSEMEN. Harness racing trainer Buddy Regan with 3-year-old pacer Edgewater Mann and then-California Gov. Ronald Reagan at Roosevelt Raceway in Westbury on Oct. 26, 1968.

AT HOME HERE. Princess Lee Radziwill in her Southampton beach house. The socialite’s portrait was included in @newsday’s 1978 annual “Who’s Who in the Hamptons.” The list of 200 Hamptons notables included celebrities, writers, politicians and artists.

LONG ISLAND JOE. Joe Namath looks for an opening as he gets set to pass during a Jets workout at Hofstra University on July 21, 1969. Earlier that year, the star quarterback led the team to victory over the Colts in Super Bowl lll. 

EGGING EACH OTHER ON. Comedian Billy Crystal and his daughter Jennifer make faces for the camera at their Long Beach home on Shore Road on Jan. 15, 1976. That year, he appeared in an episode of TV’s “All in the Family.”

A PRO TIP. Muhammad Ali speaks with a fan and signs an autograph before a speech on March 27, 1971, at Hofstra University as part of the school’s second annual Black Arts Festival. He told the audience, many of them pre-college age: “I wanted to be heavyweight champion of the world so much so that I didn’t even study like I should have.” His advice: “Unless a person finds his purpose in life, he can never be happy or satisfied.”

SEE HIS ’STACHE. Olympic gold medalist Mark Spitz signs autographs while promoting his line of swimming accessories on June 21, 1977, at Morsan Sporting Goods in Farmingdale. The nine-time Olympic champion was known for his mustache, which he considered lucky, and kept it even for competitive swimming.

WHO’S THE ENTERTAINER HERE? Billy Joel and his first wife and manager Elizabeth Weber play with their dog on their property in Cove Neck on Dec. 20, 1978. Nearly a year earlier, he released the single “Just the Way You Are,” which he had written for Weber.

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